Putin, Rahmon Discuss Afghanistan and Regional Security

During the telephone conversation, Rahmon said that the increase in the activity of terrorist groups, including ISIS, in Afghanistan has caused the instability of central Asian countries.

According to him, since August 2021, thousands of members of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Ansarullah and Hizb ut-Tahrir have been released from Afghan prisons.

Putin also believes that northern Afghanistan has become a hub for ISIS and Al-Qaeda fighters.

The Tajik president has warned Central Asia states that the presence of terrorists in Afghanistan may lead to the radicalisation of the region.

Rahmon is going to talk about Afghanistan at the next meeting of the leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which will be held in Samarkand in September.

According to media reports, in addition to the president of Tajikistan, the presidents of Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan will probably attend the upcoming SCO meeting.

Will Increase Army Strength to 200,000, If Required, Says Taliban Defense Ministry

Aug 23, 2022, 14:45 GMT+1

The Taliban Ministry of Defense announced the possibility of an increase in the number of personnel in the group’s army to 200,000. Enayatullah Khwarizmi, the Taliban’s defense ministry spokesman, said that the group has an army with a strength of 100,000 to 150,000 personnel.

After taking over Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban announced that the group will form a 100,000-member strong army.

The Taliban’s military recruits must have a background of membership of the group.

According to the decree, attributed to the leader of the Taliban Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the group can’t hire former Afghan national army soldiers in its military establishment.

Imprisonment of Civilians Against Principles of Human Rights, Says Faiq

Aug 23, 2022, 13:12 GMT+1

Imprisonment of civilians is against the principles of international humanitarian law, said Nasir Ahmad Faiq, acting head of Afghanistan Permanent Mission to the United Nations. Faiq reacted to recent reports regarding detention of civilians in Panjshir province by the Taliban.

He has urged for an investigation into the civilian detentions in Panjshir.

A video clip has been circulating on social media depicting Taliban officials arresting a number of people with handcuffs.

Taliban forces claim that the detained people were members of the National Resistance Front (NRF).

Many have criticised the Taliban’s behaviour after the release of the video clip. Several social media users have stated that the Taliban arrest and imprison civilians under the pretext of fostering relationship with the National Resistance Front.

After the National Resistance Front increased its attacks against the Taliban members in Panjshir, this group has appointed one of its most radical commanders as the commander of Panjshir and Andrab.

According to reports, the Taliban have also sent hundreds of additional troops to Panjshir province on Monday.

Speculation Rife of Taliban Expelling Pauwels as EU Delegation Head Leaves Afghanistan

Aug 23, 2022, 10:59 GMT+1

Arnout Pauwels, head of the European Union’s (EU) delegation in Kabul, announced the end of his tenure. Pauwels, who seems to have been expelled by the Taliban, wrote on Twitter, “You can take the diplomat out of Afghanistan, but you can’t take Afghanistan out of the diplomat.”

Pauwels stressed that he will be leaving Afghanistan on Tuesday and stated that it is a turbulent time.

According to Pauwels, Raffaella Iodice will soon replace him as the head of the EU delegation in Afghanistan.

The appointment of a female diplomat as the head of the EU delegation in Kabul is symbolically interpreted as the strict stance of the European Union regarding its support of women's rights in Afghanistan.

Earlier, Pauwels in his interview with TOLOnews had emphasised that the reopening of girls' schools is the priority for the European Union in Afghanistan. He listed women's right to work, human rights, media freedom, and the formation of an effective and inclusive political system as other priorities of the EU delegation.

NRF Confirms Presence of Unidentified Drones in Northern, Central Afghanistan Skies

Aug 23, 2022, 10:14 GMT+1

The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) said that over the past two days, unidentified drones entered the airspace of Afghanistan and could be seen in flight above the northern and central provinces.

Sibghatullah Ahmadi, the NRF spokesperson, wrote on Twitter that with the Taliban's control over Afghanistan, this country has become a house without doors and windows.

On Sunday, Afghanistan International sources from Panjshir province sent video clips which had recorded drones flying over Panjshir.

The Taliban have not yet commented on the reports of drones flying over northern Afghanistan.

Female University Student, Wearing Colored Veil, Barred From Taking Exam in Afghanistan

Aug 22, 2022, 14:02 GMT+1

Taliban officials from the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice barred a female student from participating in the university exam in Kabul. In a social media post, the student alleged that due to the colour of her scarf, she was not allowed to take her tests.

According to her, "We live in a country where the colour of a girl's veil is more important than her fate and future."

However, there is a difference which has emerged between the behavior of the moral police officials and the stance of the Taliban’s Ministry of Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue.

Mohammad Sadiq Akef, the spokesman of the Ministry of Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue said, "A veil or a burqa is a hijab. It does not matter whether the color of the hijab is black or some other colour.”

In a press conference in Kabul, he said on Monday that the hijab should not be tight, narrow, thin, ornate, and fragrant.

At the same time, officials of the Ministry of Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue on Monday presented a one-year report describing the ministry's functions.

At the press conference, Mawlawi Abdur Rahman Munir, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue said that over a thousand complaints have been filed in the ministry in the past year.

Munir did not give details about these complaints, but before this, the Taliban had established strict rules and asked the people to inform this ministry if they see any wrongdoing in the society.

Human rights organisations say that the Taliban's Ministry of Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue has been practicing gender apartheid against Afghan women in the past year.

Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the ministry has imposed extensive restrictions on women's right to education, work, and freedom of movement and social activities.

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